Business Intelligence, Information Systems and Its Impact on Management of

Information and Decision Making

Practical Techniques Used in Management of Information Flows

Other operational TPS and point-of-sale (PoS) systems are also used (Loudon and
Loudon, 2021). During the check-in and check-out processes and restaurant purchases,
guest credit card and payments are processed via PoS and Process Data Quickly (PDQ)
machines (TakePayments, 2021). However, the hotel’s PMS is not integrated with the
front office TPS and restaurant TPS. Therefore, during check-in and check-out, processed
payments must be manually added to each reservation. It is an incredibly time-consuming
and inefficient process and leads to errors in data-entry and a reduction in guest
satisfaction, when card details are not entered or processed correctly (Gupta, et al., 2017).

This is compounded by the hotel’s high turnover levels which is a feature of the hospitality
industry (Hayes, et al., 2017). The average industry turnover rate in the UK is 30% but can
be up to 300% (Birkin, 2019, Demir, et al., 2007 and McCartney, et al., 2022). The rate in
the front office department is even more acute than the UK average. In the three months
ending October 31st, the turnover rate was 56% (Bespoke Hotels, 2022).

The human resources (HR) department should conduct exit interviews to gain a better
understanding of the causes of staff departure. The analysis of this data would provide
strategic insights to HR. This data examination can aid in recruiting practices, retention
levels and ultimately reduces turnover levels and its associated costs (Harris, 2020 and
Spain and Groysberg, 2016).

Without dedicated on-site IT personnel, the higher ratio of new employees makes it
challenging to on-board and train staff in security protocols and compliance requirements
needed to maintain best practices and minimise the potential for data breaches. In the
event of a server outage, front office employees will bear the burden of performing all tasks
manually and in a timely manner. There is also an increased likelihood of malware attacks
due to the hotel’s open WiFi networks (Gupta, et al., 2017). Additionally, without an onsite
IT department, the performance of data encryption tasks and monitoring real-time malware
threats or malicious activities is inefficient as the waiting time for an IT contractor depends
on their availability.
While use of information systems leads to cost savings and productivity increases (Strong,
2013 and Loudon and Loudon 2021), there are many ethical, privacy and security
concerns (Blakesley and Yallop, 2019). Marriott Hotels International experienced one of
the biggest data breaches in the 21st century which compromised the personal data of 500
million customers and over 100 million credit card details were stolen (Hill and Swinhoe,
2021). While the hotel is smaller than Marriott’s global footprint, hotels without dedicated
IT personnel are more likely to experience data breaches (Gupta, et al., 2017 and
Blakesley and Yallop, 2019).

Management information systems (MIS) provide data from the TPSs is used for proper
management of staff, facilities and inventory (Loudon and Loudon, 2021). These include
maintenance, security, housekeeping and accounting operations which is currently
presented in Word or Excel formats (Hayes, et al., 2017). MIS can be used on a tactical
and strategic level to make more informed short and long-termed decisions (Hayes, et al.,
2017, Stair, 2020). MIS goes beyond software and encompasses the employees, other
personnel and TPS and ERP inputs, onsite and cloud databases for data storage and
hardware (Loudon and Loudon, 2021).

Decision support systems (DSS) aid in the strategic decision-making process (Stair, 2020)
and includes price management of restaurant menu items, rooms occupancy and demand
analysis (Gupta, et al., 2017). The primary function of TPS data collected at the hotel, is
the focus on revenue management. The current use includes forecasting and pricing
(Haynes, 2016 and Ramos, et al., 2017). This analysis of top-level numerical targets and
annual budget planning does not include a robust qualitative examination of the
relationship between guest behaviours’ or spending habits and their effect on revenue.

The hotel should consider the introduction of an enterprise resource planning system
(ERP) which would alleviate inefficiencies in collecting, storing and analysing data (Loudon
and Loudon, 2021 and Sherman, 2015). The front office reservation function is not
integrated with billing processes associated with check-ins and check-outs. Accounting,
human resources, sales, events, restaurant operations, marketing and maintenance
functions are not integrated with one another. While ERPs are costly to implement and
maintain (Monstserrat and Lucía, 2020 and Umble, et al., 2003), tracking and funnelling
information into one central database will facilitate long-term cost reduction, efficient
strategic decision-making via real-time analysis of data and ultimately guests’ satisfaction
(Lui, 2011, Botta-Genoulaz and Millet, 2006 and Wu and Wang, 2007).

The hotel should be mindful that a significant limitation is the lengthy implementation
period given the dynamic nature of the hospitality industry (Chibili, et al., 2019). The
process in some hotels can take between three to five years (Murphy and Simon, 2002).
Additionally, some ERP systems are inflexible therefore modifying the system to fit the
specific needs of the hotel may not be possible (Monstserrat and Lucía, 2020).

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